


Darling I'm a Nightmare Dressed as a Daydream

by unburnttkhaleesi



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, and the big boss of the vamps in nyc, frank castle vampire hunter, frank falls head over heels for karen, matt is karen's maker, matt murdock/ karen page friendship, some points taken from true blood, vampire karen page
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-13 04:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13562817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unburnttkhaleesi/pseuds/unburnttkhaleesi
Summary: Frank Castle is New York's best vampire hunter and hasn't had a vampire that he couldn't kill, until he meets Karen Page. Karen offers Frank her help in tracking down the Vampire Cult that killed his family as Frank becomes entranced with her.





	1. I put a spell on you

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I did a photo set to it and swore to myself that I wasn't going to write it, but I couldn't help myself. Now I did go and re-watch True Blood while I was down and out with the flu so you all may notice some plot points taken from the show. I am totally not sure how many chapters are going to be in this story, I am thinking maybe five or six, but I hope you all enjoy!

“Who is the unlucky undead tonight, Castle?”

There is a manilla folder on the coffee table in front of him while he sharpens the stake in his hand and barely looks up at the voice speaking to him as he gestures towards it.

Curtis takes a seat next to him and picks the file up and opened it up with an “Oh, I’ve heard about her. The princess of New York.” He whistles as he looks at her picture. “She’s a beauty, better watch yourself, Frank. She might be able to get one over you with those baby blues. “Damn shame, though. I’m sure the last thing this girl ever wanted was to become a vampire.” 

Frank is scoffing at his friend, but Curtis continues on. “Yeah, I heard stories about her. The girl came to the city at eighteen, from some kinda over religious family. Her first night in the city, vamps picked her up and she was turned by Murdock because Murdock killed one of his own to save his human girlfriend. Funny how he killed an innocent girl to save a girl that wasn’t so innocent.” Curtis pauses before snapping the file shut. “But, killing Karen could be the beginning to the end of vampires in New York.

“That’s the plan boss, that’s the plan.”

 

~*~*~

 

He tracks her down to some shitty vamp nightclub. It wasn’t that hard to get in, the place wasn’t well guarded and Karen Page’s guards become a pile of red goo pretty quickly. However, when he entered the bar, he found it to be empty. She must have known that she had a contract against her, it was a set up and from what he read, Karen wasn’t a vampire to mess with. Frank had been so careful to stay low.

As he steps towards the bar, the jukebox turns on and ‘I Put a Spell on You’ pours from the speakers. “Mr. Castle.”

He turns around to see the woman from the photo leaning against the jukebox. It’s dim lights illuminates her features. The picture in her file did not do her justice, her baby blues are practically glowing in the red lights of the bar. “I’ve been expecting you.” She says, her voice as smooth as finely aged whiskey. She twirls the martini glass full of blood in her fingers as she sauntered over to him. “Shame I had to spare a few men in the process to meet you, but it’s not everyday when Frank Castle comes a knocking with a contract to kill you.”

His fingers tighten around the wooden stake in his hands, but he keeps his cool. Karen Page looked like a fucking angel, a damned and cursed angel who managed to put him into some sort of spell. If this was any other vampire, they’d be goo under his boots. “Break this fuckin’ trance right now!” He grits out and she actually laughs. It’s so pure that it reminds him of bells on a horse drawn carriage.

“Mr. Castle, you are not under any trance.” She softly tells him, licking her lips at the sight of him. “Actually, I’ve heard you are unable to be hypnotized and it’s a damn shame because you smell so good. O-?” It’s more of a statement than a question. “That’s my type and you have no idea how hard it is to find a willing- participant.” The light catches her fangs for a moment and she retracts them. “I have a favor to ask of you Mr. Castle.”

“Fuck your favors,” He spits, Frank wants to hate her and for some reason he can’t. 

“It’s alright, Mr. Castle I understand your malice towards my kind with what happened to your family.” Karen states, finishing off her drink. 

Frank’s fury takes over and before he even realizes it, he has this woman pinned against the jukebox with a gun pressed to her head. “Don’t you ever talk about my family.” His voice is all hate and venom and this girl actually smiles at him.

This is dangerous, hell, she is dangerous. This vamp was pure sin, from the innocence in her doe eyes, plump red lips and the sweet scent of cinnamon radiating from her cold skin. “Mm,” She breaths. “You smell better up close and personal, Mr. Castle.” She chuckles when she hears the hammer of the gun click. “You aren’t going to kill me, Frank.” She trails a slender finger down the slope of his nose and smirks. “Because you’re a noble sort of man, an ex marine, a family man and a hurt widow.” Her fingers are in his hair and she breaths “Because I know the name of the vampire who ordered the kill on your family.”

And just like that, he drops the gun and steps back and she runs a hand through her blonde hair. “You’re ratting out one of your own kind?” He asks her in disbelief and she nods. “Why.”

“Because he is dangerous. All we wanted was peace with the humans and this asshole had to go and ruin everything and because you- Frank Castle, you are the best hunter in New York and my maker may be upset with me, but I know you can take care of Wilson Fisk and his gang.” Karen tells him. “Now, if you can escort me to your place, we can talk details.”

Frank feels as if every emotion has hit him at once and he finally, finally has a name. She then asks, no demands him to take her to his home and he scoffs. “Seriously, it’s almost daylight and well, I don’t feel like having a sparkling vamp on my hands.” He tells her. “And I sure as hell don’t want you knowing where I lay my head.

He wants to laugh at the way her expression changes from sultry to pissed off in one nanosecond. “I don’t fuckin’ sparkle, Castle- that is a shitty representation of vampires by some woman whose wet dreams obviously took hold on her.” She grows. “And besides, if I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already- and once you invite me in, you can take it back. You are safe with me.”

Frank sighs and then gives a nod. “Fine,” He grunts. “But if you try anything, I’m putting’ a silver bullet between those pretty baby blues.”

“You think my eyes are pretty?”

“Shut up.”

 

~*~*~*~

 

His apartment isn’t the nicest, in fact it’s falling apart, but it's a good place to go and sleep during the day after a long night of hunting. Frank does forget to invite her in however and doesn’t realize it until she stops speaking. He turns around and sees her standing at the door jam, eyebrow raised and arms folded across her chest.

He realizes then how beautiful she actually is and how human she actually looks. Her black peacoat is tied loosely around her waist over a pretty maroon dress, that hugged every curve of her body. He eyes the red scarf wrapped around her neck, a sign that she belonged to Murdock’s kingdom. For a moment he hates that fucker again, for turning something so pure into a monster. 

Goddamn, if she was sinful he was glad to be a sinner and he knew she could hear the way his pulse quicken when he looked at her. He hated that. 

“Well?” She snips and Frank shakes his head.

“Come in.”

She steps into the shoebox apartment and quickly kicks off her black heels while observing her surroundings. He wonders if she was judging his lifestyle and he slowly finds himself to care if she does. This place wasn’t his choice, his old house were his family lived was his choice. He watches her discard her peacoat and make herself comfortable on the couch. “So, are you going to tell me what you know?”

She stretches herself out and he tries and fails at staring at her creamy legs. It’s not his fault, he hadn’t had a woman in years and she is a vamp after all so he could blame it on the allure that they have on humans.

Expect that allure didn’t affect him like it did normal humans. The doctors blamed the shot in the head for that, they deemed him the best undead killing machine.

“Where do you want me to start?” she asks him, batting her eyelashes at him.

“From the start, from when you were turned to know, I want to know everything you know about your kind.”

She shifts in her spot, it’s the first time that he had seen her uncomfortable all night and he begins to worry that she won’t, that inviting this blood drinker into his home was a mistake, but then she takes a deep breath.

“Alright, I dunno, I have this weird feeling like I can trust you. I mean you ruthlessly kill my kind and I can’t explain why I feel like I can trust you but I do, so here it goes: It all started fifteen years ago, this freezing cold night in december.”

And she tells him everything, running away from her home in vermont to get away from her demons- that she wouldn’t specify. She tells them about their overbearing and religious ways and how she had to get out. She tells him about her first night in New York, being charmed by Matt Murdock and then being turned so Elektra could keep on living. She tells him that she was only eighteen years old and she was ‘pure’ when she was turned, it was why Murdock kept her on a high shelf out of the prying eyes of the night’s world. She, in a sense was Murdock’s adopted daughter and, god if he found out where she was now-. Karen goes into detail of the first man she had ever drained the life out of. Some pedo truck driver who had been harassing a fourteen year old homeless girl. She tells him that she would gladly rip his throat out again and Frank doesn’t disagree. 

Finally she tells him about Wilson Frisk and some sort of deal he has with some government higher ups, to enslave humans and for some reason Frank and his comrades were number one on his hit list. She tells him that he has no idea why, but deep down he knows.

“Project Cerberus.” His mutters and Karen’s ears perk up in interest.

“What?” She asks, his mutterings actually making her interested.

Frank wipes a hand across his face and sighs. “It’s uh- this special thing that I was involved in during the army. Only few were chosen.” Frank pauses and looks into her curious eyes with a sigh. “They were working on a way to make vamps into- daywalkers.” He watches Karen, who is now fully immersed into what he is saying, her face was now expressing her shock. “It was a war tactic, we would unleash your kind onto unsuspecting villages that held hidden terrorists and we were in charge of protecting them as they slaughtered every single guilty person and brought the innocents to us. But- it became too powerful and we couldn’t control the bloodlust so we had to kill the vamps and cover our tracks. Somehow Fisk found out and wants to harness it now.”

“Daywalkers?” Karen whispers. “I haven’t felt the warmth of the sun in so long.” She smiles. “Days at the beach with the sun warming your skin- I-” She stops and hide behind her golden hair. “It sounds like your little experiment on vampires failed, as it should. We are not meant for daylight and we are not meant to be your little slaves.”  
Frank sees the pained look on Karen’s face and wondered if she missed being human. “Yeah, we fucked up and now dealing the the consequences.”

“But it’s still no excuse for what happened to your family, Frank.” She tells him. “I was disgusted when I found out, and if I was in your shoes, I wouldn’t stop till everyone involved was dead.” The way she is looking at him, it felt as if she was looking into his soul. “I could- I could allow you to have a pleasant vision of them while you sleep.”

“What’s the catch?” He is suspicious, but she can’t blame him.

“There is none, just allow me to continue with helping you.” She’s being honest and he strangely trusts her, but still doesn’t understand why. So he nods his head and she smiles. “Alright, I’ll be back tomorrow night then.” She begins to scoot closer to him and rests her hands on his chest. “Are you ready?” She asks him and he nods again. “Alright, Frank.” She begins to whisper at his ear. “I want you to think back on the happiest memory you have with your family.” He sucks in a deep breath of air as he feels her finger trail over the scar that the bullet left on his head. “I want you to put that memory at the top of your thoughts and concentrate on that memory. Are you ready?”

He grunts in response and she smiles. “Alright, Mr. Castle, sleep.”

And when he finally falls asleep, he dreams of his family and for once there is no blood or gunshots, it’s just a happy, almost lifelike memory and for once he gets a peaceful sleep.

When he wakes up late in the afternoon, he is still on his sofa with a pillow under his head and a blanket over top of him. The smell of cinnamon still lightly lingers in the air which makes Frank shoot up from his sleep, feeling his neck.

No puncture wounds, she didn’t bite him. 

His eyes cast over toward a note which was taped to his shirt with scotch tape. In neat writing, half cursive, half print, it reads.

‘Meet me tonight, Josie’s Bar at eight.’ -Karen

He stares at the note, knowing that he shouldn’t go, that this woman was a vampire and a dangerous one at that. As much as he knew he should stake her and walk away, he couldn’t and he couldn’t ignore the pull he felt towards her.

“I’m so fucked.” He breathes before getting up and getting ready for the day.


	2. I Wanna Do Bad Things With You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so onto the second chapter. Gotta admit, it may be a little rocky cause I was writing this during the superbowl and I am a philly girl born and raised so there was non stop partying. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy cause you've all been super awesome with liking this story. Also I am currently looking for a beta since I am the queen of mistakes while proof writing. So message me on my tumblr if you would be up for it.
> 
> Also, I have been making photo sets, but would anyone with the talent of gif making like to make a set for this?
> 
> Also, Also, my next update will be next week?? I am going to the parade on Thursday and no way in hell am I gonna be sober enough to write. 
> 
> Also x3
> 
> True blood scene if ya squint, I was a Jason x Jessica girl.

Frank had heard about Josie’s Bar. It had became a inclusive bar, allowing humans, vamps and wolves drink in peace together. So at least she wasn’t up to meeting him on hostile ground. He had to admit that from the moment he woke up from the dream she had given him, all he could think about was her. Her features had been permeltaly imprinted in his mind and he wondered if it was her doing. 

Everytime he closed his eyes, he saw those crystal eyes looking into him and those ruby red lips moving against his ear as she spoke. He was lusting after this creature and he couldn’t shake the feeling and hated every moment.

The cold February air nipped at his exposed skin as he trudged toward the bar. He had taken extra steps tonight, wearing a silver cross on his neck. Sure Karen didn’t drain him dry last night, but he wasn’t going to risk it. Though he wondered if she was telling the truth, that his blood type was the one that kept her immortal and looking as stunning as she was. Part of him, a small itty bitty fucked up part of wanted to feel her sink her teeth into his neck and so he could feel the pleasure that blood bags describe being right next to the feeling of an orgasm. 

Before long, he finds himself in front of the bar that Karen told her to meet him in and he opens the door, dusting the flurries of snow off his shoulders. It’s a dive bar, and pretty clean up to the standards of other places in hell's kitchen. 

The bar is filled with people, human, vamp and wolf all together under one roof. There is talking and laughing as a mellow tune echoes through the dimly lit bar. He sees her almost immediately and she is sitting with someone this time. So he approaches them cautiously and takes a seat at their table.

Karen’s face lights up at the sight of him and she quickly looks at the man next to her. “Foggy, this is Frank, Frank this is Foggy- my babysitter.”

This man, Foggy, rolls his eyes at Karen. “Kare, you know what Matt said. He is still pissed off about last night. I still don’t understand how you were able to ignore his summons,” Foggy’s worry is written all over his face, even more so when he notices the way that Karen is currently looking at Frank. “Mr. Castle, my name is Franklin Nelson- you can call me Foggy. I am a friend of Mr. Murdock’s and a friend of Karen’s.”

“Matt commanded him to follow me here.” Karen deadpans. “He doesn’t seem to trust that I can handle myself.”

Frank scoffs and looks at the man while a waitress brings him a beer. “You do realize that she lured me to her, right?” He explained to the guy sitting next to her. “Maybe let your boy know that someone set a contract after her.”

Foggy’s brow narrows. “A contract, Karen, who would want you dead?”  
Karen looks down at her bottle of dark red liquid and sighs. “My parents-” She begins. Frank can’t hide the shock that washes over him and Foggy shakes her head, giving her a disapproving look. “I wanted to see them, Foggy! You can’t blame them for being a little pissed about their own daughter being a blood sucking freak!”

“Matt warned you about your old life, Karen. He is not going to be happy when he finds out.” Foggy scolds and Karen scoffs. “I have to tell him.”

Frank looks between the two and then shakes his head. “Nah, man you ain’t telling your Murdock.” He decides. “And if you do, well-” He pulls open his jacket and shows him his arsenal. “You won’t like the consequences.”

Karen perked up and her pretty angel eyes lit up. “B-but I’m not a vamp. I’m a wolf.” Foggy stutters and Frank shrugs. 

“Don’t care, now little man I am gonna need some alone time with the princess right here. So would ya kindly leave us alone so we can talk?” Frank is a force, much like the girl to be reckoned with and lucky enough, Foggy seems to pick up on that and gives a quick nod and Frank beams. “Great, I’ll have her back at the lair later.” Frank raises a brow when he doesn’t budge. “Leave.”

Foggy looks at Karen who bats her lashes at him and smiles oh so sweetly. “Go, Foggy. I’ll be fine.”

He finally gives in and sighs while putting on his coat. “Fine, be careful.” He grumbles before leaving the two of them for the night.

Frank watches the man leave and takes a swing of his beer. “Well shit, ain’t he the pushy type. Kinda like that sibling that is always tellin’ mommy and daddy on ya.”

“He means well,” Karen sighs as she finishes her ‘meal’. “Foggy, he is Matt’s best friend and one of his only connections to other supernatural forces and when I was first turned and made into Matt’s Progeny, Foggy became my first and only friend. Foggy will do anything for Matt and Matt always thinks he has my best interest in mind.”

“Sounds to me like he’s keeping you from the world, shielding you from everything. But you are unlike any vamp I’ve ever met. One being that you didn’t attack me on sight last night and two, you didn’t taste me, even though you wanted to.” Frank clears his throat and smiles over to her. “Not to mention you got your own dad to get a contract against you, s’pretty badass.” He watches a smile come across her pretty lips and feels his own heartbeat speed up. “So, Ma’am, what have you got for me?”

“Ma’am,” She hums. “Well aren’t you the gentleman.”  
“Gotta be around royalty.” He teases.

She rolls her eyes at him and leans across the table. “Got some info on a wearhouse by the docks, one of Fisk’s top men is there along with some human captives. Why don’t we go pay them a little visit.”

“We?” Frank asks with a raised brow and she nods her head almost a little to ethusatically. His face flattens and deadpans a “No.”

“No? What do you mean no?” Those doe eyes narrow at him and his heart skips a beat. Goddamn if she didn’t look as if she wasn’t about to hop across this table. “Frank, I am your ticket to the inside, I am going.”

Frank swore to himself that he wasn’t going to bend. “Listen, ma’am, if anything happens to you. Murdock will be on my ass and I really don’t feel like dealing with his shit.”

She licks her lips and leans across the table, locking eyes with him. His heart is in his throat as she looks at his pulse point for a moment and then stares at him through thick eyelashes. “I can handle myself Castle.” She purrs. “You already know that,” And there she went, batting those heavenly blues at him. “Please?”

Fuck. “Fine.”

She flashes him a toothy grin. “Great!” She leans back in her seat with a shit eating grin and Frank scowls.

“Just be careful alright and stay behind me at all times.” He commanded while taking two twenties from his wallet and leaving it out on the table. “After you, Sparkles.”

A scowl forms on her mouth. “Call me sparkles one more time-”

“Alright...Sparkles.”

He doesn’t try to hold his smile as she chased him out of the bar.

~*~*~*~

Frank worries for a moment when she slides into his old mustang. He actually is wondering if she’ll judge the old worn leather seats and the fact that it isn’t the nice limo she is used to driving in. However her smile makes him feel more confident, alright so maybe she won’t judge him. “This car just screams hunter.” She says, messing with the radio dial. “We are going to have to park it, far, far away from the warehouse.” Karen sighed for a moment and looked over at him. “You ready to play a blood bag role?”  
“Can’t be too bad, being your blood bag.” Frank decides, swatting her hand away from the radio when she came across a song he liked and rolled his eyes when he saw her amused expression. “What, there is nothing wrong with country.”

She tucks a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. “You saying that you’re alright with doing bad things with me?” She teased. “Cause I wouldn’t mind one bit.”

Frank feels his face heat up and he clears his throat. “Actually, I have a question for you Page.” He states. “You don’t have to answer it if it makes you feel uncomfortable,” Frank sees a nod of her head and continues. “What did you mean when you said you were pure?”

Jesus, if Karen was alive, he could have sworn she would have gone pink at his question. She let out a shaky laugh and blew out a breath. “Remember when I told you I was eighteen when I was turned?” He nods. “Well, Castle, put two and two together. I came from an overbearing home, wasn’t allowed to date.” He’s confused and she looks annoyed. “Wow, you are really going to make me say it. I was a virgin when I was turned, Mr. Castle.” Now he is pink and she is laughing. “So yeah, you can understand why Matt likes to keep me locked away. He doesn’t want his innocent little progeny being corrupted.”

Frank blinks and turns to look at her. “Honestly, that’s pretty fucked up. I mean Murdock is the first and only religious vampire I’ve ever met, but I mean you are what- thirty something now. Or would be thirty something if you were alive. You are a grown woman, not a china doll, you can do what you want.” He stops the car a block away from the warehouse. “I mean, what’s with the living in an old church thing? Murdock seems a little off his rocker.”

“He likes to stick to some of his humanity and that happens to be his religion and Elektra.” Karen explains, a hint of a smile on her face from Frank’s speech.

“And is there anything that you have that reminds you of your humanity?” He asks her and Karen shakes her head. “Well, maybe I can help you find it.” He pauses again. “Can I ask if you’ve ever been with a man though, after you were turned.”

“Yeah, about three and it’s painful every time since I am reliving my first time over and over.” Frank just shrugs and she narrows her eyes. “What?”

“Maybe you just haven’t found the right person, ya know?” He smirks as he gets out of the car, leaving Karen to blink away her confusion.

~*~*~*~

Karen leads him into James Wesley’s lair with a confidence that he hadn’t seen yet, the vamps at the door had them believing that she was her blood bag, just a vagabond she picked up off the street and cleaned up. She did make it clear that he was hers and only hers.  
Her face falls when she sees the humans in the cages. “Oh my god.” She whispers a hint of a quiver in her voice. “Frank, we have to get these people-”

“Well, well, Miss. Page. I am surprised to see you here.” She turns slowly at the sound of Wesley’s voice and takes a deep breath. “Shocking to see the princess of hell's kitchen prancing around with such a- mysterious looking man.” He nods to Frank. “Hello there.”

“Murdock doesn’t control me, Wesley. I am an independent woman and I can go and see whoever I wish.” Karen snips and Wesley laughs. “I heard from the grapevine that you have some pretty luxurious rooms here and my friend and I were looking somewhere to spend the day.” Her arms wrap around his torso and she nuzzles her nose into his neck. “I’m just looking for a place to break him in, you know?”

James grunts and walks closer to the pair, making Frank look down quickly. “Of course I know what you mean Miss. Page, I am just trying to figure out why he looks so familiar.” Karen tries to hold back the breath that hitched in her throat and Frank refuses to make eye contact. James hums and smirks. “Alright, Alfonso will show you to your room.” He snaps his fingers and a weary man comes running over, a shock collar on his neck. “Have fun, Miss. Page.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

She knows Frank’s eyes are on the man’s collar the whole way to the room and Karen had to pretend as if it wasn’t bothering her. Once they make it to the door, She takes her bag and hands it to Frank who grabs the two pistols containing silver bullets and tucks them into his belt. “We have to be quick.” He tells her in a rush. “I counted ten men,” He continues while handing her a few stakes. “But if he calls for backup- well we are screwed, so we gotta be careful and make sure none of the people in those cages are hurt in the line of fire.”

When he turns to look at her, really look at her, he sees fear in her eyes and wonders if she will back down. “Listen, if you don’t wanna do this I get it. It’s safer in here anyways and I-”

She stops him by putting a hand on his chest. “No, no I want to do this. It’s just those people out there. They look so scared and lost. They were probably glamoured into coming here just like I-” Karen takes a breath and shudders. “I know how they feel, I know that fear all too well.”

Frank gives her a stern nod, still taken back that she was going to be helping him destroy her own kind. He knew vampire law, you kill a vamp, you gotta make a vamp and Karen? Well she was the prime example of that law. “Alright, let's go kill those bastards.”

Before they can even move, the door flies open and standing there is Wesley with a sinister grin on his face. “You know, I knew I recognized you from somewhere. You’re that damned hunter that keeps killing off our own kind.” He snapped his fingers and it didn’t take long before two large vampires rushed in and pulled Frank down to the ground. “Miss. Page, I am shocked that you were so quick to try and pull one over on us. Now that is unacceptable- grab her.”

She doesn’t even register the vampire coming up behind her or the small prick she feels on her shoulder. The next thing she knows, everything is going black and Frank his shouting her name.

~*~*~*~*~*~

She wakes up later in a murky room, sitting in a chair across from a man. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust and when they do, she realizes that she is looking at James Wesley. The way he was looking at his was all predatory and from the other room, she could hear Frank yelling in pain.

“Wh-what did you give me?” She pants, her insides still burning. “Where- where is Frank?”

“A little concoction made by a friend. A little bit of werewolf blood and a little bit of holy water, did enough to knock you out, not enough to kill you.” He rolls his eyes. “And you don’t need to worry about the hunter.” Wesleys shrugs. “Because it’s not everyday when the princess of New York comes at your door.” He sighs at the sound of Franks screams again and shakes his head. “Did you two really think you could come in here and destroy my operations?” His laugh is dark, sinister and sends a sick feeling into her stomach. “It’s cute actually and so many will spend a lot of money to spend time with you and the hunter- but, since you think you are so tough, I’ll give you a chance to end me once and for all.”

She looks at him with a worried expression and he laughs. “Miss. Page.” She holds her breath as she watches him take a gun from his suit jacket and place it on the table. “I dare you to finish what you started- go on, try me.”

Karen’s breath hitches when she realizes it’s one of Frank’s guns. She knows hesitating was the difference between life and the true death and she thinks about Frank in the next room over and the human locked up in cages. That’s all she needs and before Wesley can even react the gun is in her hand and she is firing off seven rounds into the elder vampires chest.

“The fuck-” He gasps before exploding into a pile of blood and gore.

Time was of the essence now and she is quickly brought back by the sound of Frank screaming for her. She doesn’t have time to process that she just killed one of her own as she rips the door off of its hinges and stops to listen for Frank’s heart beat. Her ears pick up the sound of men laughing. ‘Thought the boss was gonna keep the girl alive’ one says. ‘Damn fine shame that he didn’t- pretty little thing like that, let's go scoop up the remnants and bring it to Murdock.’

There is footsteps and laughter as Karen ducks into the empty room next door while the men leave Frank's room. She feels the timer ticking down as she walks through the open door and catches eyes with Frank.

His shirt was ripped off his body and he was suspended from the ceiling in chains. His face his bruised, broken and the smell of his blood makes her pupils dilate in a natural response. “Karen?” He rasps, blood dripping out of his mouth. “Karen, you’re alive. Wh- what happened to Wesley.”

Her mind kicks in and she rushes over to Frank and freed him through sheer force from his chains. “I- I killed- he’s dead.”

“Attagirl.” He chuckles, finding it hard to stand on his feet. He crashes into Karen who in her best efforts held him up. “Knew you were a badass.”

She looks him over for a moment and then fully processes how bad his injuries actually are. She needed him to be alright and she needed to free the people. “Frank, you need to drink my blood.”

“Excuse me?”

“Vampire blood has healing properties, please!”

“It also makes people into crazy junkies, so no!”

Blue eyes meet brown and she cups his face. “Frank, listen to me, one time isn’t going to get you hooked, I will not let that happen. If you don’t do this, those men are gonna come back and all of this will be for nothing, so please!”

Frank bows his head, realizing that she was right, he wasn’t sure how long he had been tied up like this. The vamps told him a day, though it felt longer and the danger that they were both in was extreme so he nodded his head. “Fine, fine, just this once.”

She gently allows him to fall to ground and bites into her own wrist. The crimson fluid drips from her pearly white fangs and she brings a dainty wrist towards his mouth. “Drink.” She whispers and he obeys.

It was like hellfire going through his system, he could feel his bones mending and his skin pulling itself back together. He understood right there why vampire’s blood was so damn addictive, it gave him a rush. He could hear and smell better and when he is done, he pulls her wrist from his lips and looks up at her. “Lets go crack some skulls.”

“Make it fast, Castle!” She tells him while handing him one of his pistols. “That rush you are feeling doesn’t last for long. I’ll go free the captives and meet you back at the car.”

And they do just that, Karen rushes past him and tries her best to ignore the sound of gunshots and screams as she opened up cells. They’ve come too, no longer under Wesley’s power and run as soon as their free. ‘Hey, Thanks lady.’ A young man says after rubbing his neck and Karen nods her head, shoos him off and watches the hallway for a moment before she see’s Frank stumbling out, a few prisoners behind him. “Are they?” She begins and Frank nods before Karen looks at the scared humans behind him. “Listen, you need to call the police once we leave, understand?” They nod if fear and Karen walks over to Frank, supporting him on her shoulders. ‘Is he going to be okay?’ A shaken woman asks and Karen nods. “He’ll heal, the blood is still fresh in him.

Karen is working fast as she gets him into his car, fishing his keys from his things that he managed to gather. She brings him back to his apartment, watching the bullet wounds that he managed to get during the firefight begin to heal. He didn’t seem to need another dosage of her blood tonight, he would crash soon anyway. “You did good, Castle, she whispered as she lowered him into his bed and pulled the sheets over him. Get some rest.”

~*~*~*~*~

Frank wakes up with a gasp and quickly takes in his surroundings. He vaguely remembered Karen getting him back into his apartment after the showdown at Wesley’s lair. Rubbing his hands down his face and sighing, Frank looked up at the water stained ceiling and all he could think about was how awful the sting went, he almost got Karen killed from his stupid plan and he is about to get up and apologize before a voice interrupts him. “You’re awake.”

Frank sits up on on his elbows to see Karen standing against the door jam, wearing his shirt- and nothing but his shirt. “Karen?” He blinks and she stalks over toward him and climbs onto the bed. “Karen, what the fuck?”

She giggles when he speaks and sinks her teeth into her bottom lip. “You are a hero, Mr. Castle- and I think that a hero deserves a reward.” She purrs while unbuttoning his shirt and climbing on his lap.

“K-Karen...stop!” He grunts while she moans in protest. “I- I can’t,” He clears his throat. “I can’t do this.” His skin is on fire as she braces her cool hands on his bare chest and his brain begins to work. “Wait, is this a dream?” He asks and she beams. “Are you, did you make me dream this.”

Karen clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “No stud, I make sure you have happy dreams. You are the deciding factor on what you dream about.” 

He’s lost, Maria usually occupied these sort of dreams, not some vampire chick he just met.

Not some leggy, blonde, heart shaped ass, vampire with pouty lips, beautiful eyes a rack to die for- aw shit, he did think this up. He was lusting after what he was trained to kill and here she was, dream Karen grinding herself down on him and making downstairs stir to life. “Fuck it,” He breathes and she smiles in triumph while moving her hips in a circular motion.

“I want you to do real bad things with me, Mr. Castle.” She gives a pitchy moan and pulls his shirt completely open. He is greeted to a matching lacy bra and panties along with flawless creamy skin. “I want you to show me how a real man treats a woman.” She hums, still moving her hips fluidly against him. “I want you to fuck me good.”

He reaches up, his hands all over that porcelain skin and their lips meet in a steamy kiss. She’s a moaning mess on top of him and he gives her ass a good squeeze. Karen gives a small yelp, moves her lips away from his and reaches back to undo her bra. He is so close to seeing her, so close when he hears a-

“What the Fuck are you doing in here, you blood sucking freak!” 

This time Frank shoots up from his sleep, the evidence of his dream very prominent under the blanket.

“I asked you were Frank is, you gonna answer my question before I drive this stake through your chest!” The voice is muffled a bit through the door, but he realizes that it’s Curtis and the person he was threatening had to be Karen.

“Shit!” He curses, trying to think of anything to calm himself down.

“Frank is fine you hot headed asshole,” He hears Karen yell “He is in the back room recovering from his injuries and if you kill me, you’ll have to deal with him.”

There is a long pause before he hears Curtis again. “Frank?”

Frank sighs. “Yeah?”

“This leech tellin’ the truth?”

“Yup.”

“Then why aren’t you coming out?”

Frank groans noticing that all the yelling outside his room made his excitement go away to the point where he could hide it and gets out of bed. His body feels heavy, almost like he was coming out of a bad hangover and he makes his way to the door and opens it up. “The fuck you want, Curtis?”

Karen moves away from the hunter and ducks towards Frank’s side. She runs a hand up his bare arm and looks him over. “You feeling alright? Your wounds looked like they healed well.”

“Yeah, I’m just peachy.” He grunts and picks up on Curtis’ looks.

“She is helping me out, that’s it. Karen here helped me take down Wesley, actually she killed Wesley.”

Curtis’ jaw dropped and he looked at her with awe. “You killed your own kind?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She murmurs before walking past them and towards the small kitchen.

“Karen,” Frank pipes up. “Are the people he was holding alright?”

She nods. “I checked up on them last night, most of them are being reunited with their families and others are still regaining their senses. They’re still a little shaken, but will be alright.”

“Last night?” He turns to Curtis. “How long was I out?”

“About a day and a half.” Karen tells him. “But I am glad you are up, cause my Maker would like to speak to you- he’s outside the apartment building.” She tells him nonchalantly. 

Curtis chuckles while Frank stands shellshocked. “Man, I told you she was going to get you into so much trouble.”

And damn how right he was.


	3. Darling You're In My Vains

When he peeks through his blinds he sees a black SUV with pitch black windows. He groans in annoyance and catches eyes with Karen who is idly sitting at the kitchen table, reading the news paper. Curtis is of course leaning against the wall and eyeing Karen up carefully. Frank realized that he was still trying to decide if Karen was to be trusted. Frank, however, was still trying to figure that out, especially now that Matt Murdock was waiting outside his building for nightfall.

“How the hell does he know you are here?” Frank asked with a hiss and Karen shrugged. “Karen, I don’t want him knowing where I live and now he does know where I live, how does he know?”

She huffs, looking up from the paper. “Foggy told him I was with you.”

That wasn’t good enough. “Foggy doesn’t know where I live.”

“It’s cause he is her maker, they communicate through freaky mind bullshit.” Curtis growls, arms folded across his chest. “She told him.”

Karen gets up from her chair calmly and laughs. “Actually Mr. Know-it-all, Matt has been trying to communicate with me all night, usually I have to answer his calls.” Curtis gestures toward Frank with raised brows and an open palm toward Karen. Karen shakes her head and smiles. “Though for some reason, when I am around Frank, I don’t have the need to have to answer Matt. I am almost free when I’m with Frank, Matt can’t touch me.” Franks eyes are dark and he is studying her now. “I still don’t fully understand why.”

Frank rubs his eyes before running a hand down his face. “We’ll figure this all out when the sun goes down, but I am not letting him in my place.” Karen agrees with Frank’s choice and he looks her up and down. His stomach drops when he actually notices what she had on. That black button up from his dream and a clean pair of his socks. She swims in the shirt and he tries to keep the memories of the dream away from his mind. “I’m gonna shower.” He grumbles. “And Curtis, you can leave.” He rolls his eyes when the man doesn’t move. “Seriously, get the hell out. She’s not gonna do anything.” Frank explains. “She would have done something already if she wanted too, I’m fine.”

Curtis grumbles and sighs. “Fine, but I am coming by tomorrow to make sure you’re still alive. You think you can handle Murdock on your own?”

Frank looks past Curtis and at Karen, her eyes are burning into his and he nods. “I got all the leverage I need.”

He knows Curtis is over careful, but sinks in relief when he turns his back and leaves. Karen goes over to the door, dead bolts it and rubs her lips together as she turns around. “You’re okay?” She asks, her voice just above a whisper. “You were really out of it, and I didn’t want to give you any more of my blood- so I figured that you would come out of it.” For the first time Karen felt so small as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”

He offers her a breathy laugh and a smile. “I feel the same way, Sparkles.” He expects her to make a smartass remark at the nickname, but she doesn’t. Instead she launches herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle and rests her cheek against his heart.

Frank is taken back to say the least and he freezes for a moment before snaking his arms around her waist. He feels her breath shudder against his bare chest as she nuzzles herself closer and all he could think was how nice this felt. Basic content was something he was lacking in as of lately and being around this girl, this vampire, this- Karen had been nice. 

He doesn’t know how long they had been standing there, holding each other, but when Karen pulls back and hides her face with her hair, he stops her. Licking his lips, he tucked a few blonde strands behind her ear. Noting the blood dripping from her eye. He had almost forgotten that Vampires cried tears of blood. It was strange how the ruby liquid made her eyes more so intense than before. “Hey, you did good, you were the hero in all of this. Wesley was a bad guy, Karen. You did good.” She leans into the warmth of his hand and gives a slight nod and a weak smile. “Now tell me, what vampire references piss Murdock off the most.”

Karen bubbles up in laughter. “Oh, you should compare him to the vampire from Sesame Street. That’s always a good one.”

“So cheesy transylvanian accent and lots of counting?”

She nods. “Mhm, now get yourself cleaned off- you really smell.” She laughs at his furrowed brow. “There will be coffee waiting for you.”

~*~*~*~*~

When he is cleaned and dressed, he finds Karen sitting on his sofa this time. She is curled up with a book, her legs tucked underneath her and looking pretty focused on whatever she was reading. Like she promised, there was a pot of coffee waiting for him and he smirks as he pours himself a cup and plops down next to her. “What are you reading there?” He asks trying to look at the cover that she lifted to him. “War and Peace? Seriously?”

“It was on your coffee table with a note from your friend that put a stake to my chest.” She dully explains. “I read this in highschool.” She adds.

“You read that in high school?”

“Honors English.” She smirks at his eye roll. “I was such a perfect little student.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Everyone else did sparknotes and I read the whole book.”

Frank chuckles. Of course she was the good girl in school and shit, if they’d known each other back then, his punk ass self would have tried to make a pass at her and copy her work no doubt. “What’s your favorite book.”

She pauses for a moment and rubs her lips together. Karen had been through stacks and stacks of books. Her recent conquest was the ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ series, she heard of the Game of Thrones TV show, but hadn’t gotten around to watching it. Mostly because Matt wouldn’t budge on getting HBO. It was basic cable for her boring maker. Her cheeks heat up before answers because her answer is so basic. “It’s a tie between Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” She points a finger at the smile dance on his lips. “Don’t judge me.”

“Nah, no judging. My favorite books happens to be Interview with a Vampire.” Frank shrugs and then points at her and the laugh that is starting to bubble up. “Hey, Anne Rice’s novels are amazing.” He shrugs. “Kinda ironic, two people of the night loving monster books.”

Karen nods her head, putting the ribbon into the book and setting it down on the coffee table. “I wasn’t allowed to read those kinds of books at my house.” She shakes her head at Frank’s confusion. “My dad was like- Carrie’s Mom, sort of religious, expect of being shoved in a closet to pray if we did anything wrong. Instead, everything that wasn’t okayed by God was banned. He ran a tight shift, even more so when my little brother died. That is the main reason why i left.”

Frank feels a pang of sadness for the girl next to him. He watches as she rests a hand against her chin and he counts the freckles on her slender neck. “I’m sorry.” He tells her, knowing the pain of loss too well. “You’re here now, rebelling against your dad though.”

“And dealing with another overbearing male figure, it’s great.” She sighs. “I trade one tower for another, like some sort of prisoner princess.”

“Rapunzel” He offhanley said and Karen raises her brow. “My daughter, Lisa, had this- hold on.” Karen watches as he stands up and pulls a pretty leatherbound book from the shelf. “She was obsessed with fairytales. When I was stationed over in the middle east, I would call her up when I good and read her a story from this book.” He hands it over to Karen who runs her fingers along the golden writing. “She loved Rapunzel, it was her favorite story.” Frank sits next to her, this time closer and takes her hands. “You’re strong, Karen and you don’t need your father’s, Murdock’s or my protection and when we see Murdock tonight, you need to tell him everything.” She nods and gives her hands a squeez. “You got this, Sparkles.”

~*~*~*~*~

When the sun goes down and darkness blankets the city, they both look up from their game of cards to see Matt Murdock, standing at his fire escape. It takes every ounce of self control to not pull down the blinds on the ass hat of a vampire lord, though it would get a smile out of Karen. With a grunt, he stands up and walks over to the window, opening it to allow him to speak.

“Invite me in.” He demands at once, not a hello, not a ‘it’s nice to meet you.’ A command in a tone that was meant to scare Frank.

Frank takes a deep breath, folds his arms across his chest and looks back at Karen. “This guy serious, Page?”

“Dead serious.” She says while flashing her deck of cards at him. “Straight flush, I win again, Castle.”

Matt’s face isn’t amused and the way he speaks makes Frank think of one of those old dramatic movies from the 50s. “Karen, I command you to make this man let me in.”

“Can’t do that, Matt, he can’t be glamoured and this isn’t my place.” She explains dully while Frank examines her deck of cards.

“How the fuck did you win again?” 

“I am a lucky girl, Frank.”

Matt’s growl is ever present and he slams his hand onto the windowsill, which makes Karen and Frank look at him again. “Karen.” Matt slowly says again. “We need to talk so I need to come in. This man that you call your friend is a killer of your own kind. It isn’t safe to be around him. I command that you come home with me.”

She whirls on him, stomping over towards the window with a glare on her face. “You don’t need to come in, Matt because we are talking right now and no, I am not coming home with you.” Her stance becomes a bit more confident and more defensive. “I am not going to be locked up again, understand. I’m not some fucking doll that you show off to your creepy friends and honestly I don’t feel like hearing you and Elektra fucking every damn night. I like being around Frank, I feel safe around him.” Karen looks back at the man who is leaning against the table. “He’s not going to hurt me, Matt.”

He ignores her words, Frank knows that before Matt starts speaking. “Mr. Castle, Karen is dangerous for you to be around. She doesn’t know control and she can and will kill you, you need to revoke your invitation.”

Frank chuckles darkly. “Man, what the fuck is your problem?” he scowls before joining Karen’s side. “You try to manipulate her and now you are trying to manipulate me? It’s not working buddy, she doesn’t want to go with you. For once fucking listen to her and what she wants. She wants to stay, so fucking respect it.” He drapes an arm across her shoulder and raises his brows at the sneer on Matt’s face. “You know what, how about you come in.”

Karen’s eyes go wide at Franks invitation. Matt is equally shocked, but speeds off and in a blink of an eye, he is standing in the apartment. Frank is quick though and has his colt already pointed at Matt’s head. “Don’t fucking move.” He threatens and Matt puts his hands up as Karen hisses at something, her fangs bared. 

It’s when he notices a woman in red climbing through his window. That must be Elektra. “It’s alright, Ellie.” Matt soothes but it’s not okay. Frank wants to put a bullet between this woman’s eyes. He had a code, yes, but this woman was the reason why Karen wasn’t able to enjoy the feeling of sunlight on her skin. “Frank, I’m not going to hurt you and I’m not going to take Karen away if this is what she wants. I just want an explanation of what happened at the docks. Karen could be trouble for killing her own kind.”

Karen and Frank share a look before he lowers his gun and watches Elektra stroll over towards Matt’s side. He takes a breath and nods. “Fine, Wilson Fisk, you've heard that name before?” Frank asks and Matt nods. “Good, good, cause he is a planning on enslaving the human race. Karen and I, we managed to get into one of his crones warehouse. It was a um, human trafficking ring, he was kidnapping people and selling them to your kind to do whatever they please. The vampire that Karen killed was in charge of the one at the docks, he threatened her life and she did what she had to do to survive.”

Matt studies them for a moment. He looks at Karen who is almost glued to the hunters side and he shifts to Frank who is standing still like a statue, unmoving from Karen. He can tell, just by listening to his beating heart that Frank was being honest. Matt sighs and runs a hand through his hair and nods. “I’ll do what I can with the council, with what you are saying is true, Karen don't be punished. But it would be better if she stayed low- perhaps here? With you?” Elektra gives Matt a harsh glare. “Ellie, calm yourself. Karen will be fine, she says she wants to say then she’ll stay.”

Frank glaces over at Karen from the corner of his eyes. He can tell that she is nervous, just by the fact that she doesn’t break eye contact with her maker. She is wondering if this was a trick, a trap of some sort. Just a few minutes ago, Matt was all about Karen coming with him and now he wanted Karen to stay with him. Frank gives a sigh and nods his head his hand wrapping around Karen’s wrist. “Sounds alright with me, Red.” He shrugs. “We’ll be fine.”

Matt looked between the two of them and nodded. “Alright,” He glances at Karen. “Be careful and I’ll be watching.” Matt offers a hand out to Frank. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Castle. I have to admit that I was a little intimidated when I first heard of you, I mean I’ve heard stories of you. A man with nothing to lose and how you cut down at least twenty five vampires here in New York. But after coming to your humble living space, it changed my mind.”

Frank scoffed. “Alright, Murdock, just get the hell out before I become a bit more intimidating and shove a stake through your chest.” He rolls his eyes as Murdock takes Elektra’s hand in his own and nods a silent bye to Karen. As soon as he is out of the door, Frank is quick to lock it. “That took a weird turn.”

Karen nods, her brows furrowed. “It was odd,” She walked over toward the window and watched them both pile into the car. “I thought he was going to try to drag me back home with me.”

“Maybe he actually has your best interest in mind?” Frank asks as he looks through his fridge.

“No, it’s weird. Like he either wanted me gone or he thinks I’ll come crawling back. He knows I haven’t eaten in days.” Karen rambles while Frank looks up in shock. “Calm down, I can control myself. We just have to go out and get a case of that animal blood. It’s vile but it stops us from draining humans.” Once she is comfortable she moves away from the window and sits at the table. Her eyes follow him around the kitchen as he prepares himself dinner. “Maybe he just realizes that you are the safest option right now, imagine that. A vampire being safer with what hunts her than her own kind.” 

“Can I ask you a question?” He asks while filling a pot with water. His head is turned slightly and he sees her nod. “After I drank your blood and went through that rampage, I had a very- very lucid dream. Did you cause that?”

She’s calm, chin positioned on her hand while she flipped through an old hunting journal of his. “I allowed you to have a happy dream while you were healing, why?” She looks more at home in his apartment then he expect and when he watches her cross her bare legs, he gulps. “Was it a good one?”

“Hell yeah.” He says, almost a bit to ethusastilly. Karen looks up at him with an amused smile on her face and Frank tries to hide his blush. “I mean, it was alright.”

“Dreaming about a special girl?” She asks with a playful grin that soon goes flat when she realizes what she just said. “I mean- um, shit, Frank I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head while putting the pot on the burner. “It’s alright, really. We are just having a conversation, right?” Karen ducks her head back into the old leather journal and nods, he can see a hint of a shy smile on her face and he chuckles. “So um, other things I’ll be going through with this blood- you can track me, right?”

Karen nods. “And tell if you are in any sort of danger, whatever you feel, I’ll feel. It’s a weird bond that most Vampires give their donors. Matt gave it to Elektra- not that I claimed you as my donor, I did what I did so you would survive. It’ll fade away in a few weeks.”

“And I appreciate that, Sparkles.” He tells her, trying to hide the waver in his voice. If she felt what he felt, that meant that she felt everything from his dream about her and god damn she was still in that button up. “So, um. What happened to your clothes?”

She closes the journal, obviously giving up reading the information of the vampires he had destroyed throughout the years and shrugs. “Mine were covered in dirt and blood, so I had to change. It’s not problem is it?” He shakes his head no and she smiles. “Besides, this shirt is about the more comfortable thing I’ve ever worn.” 

He finishes making his pasta and takes a seat across from her at the table. She watches him eat for a moment, licks her lips and then looks back down at her fingers. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that she was starving. He wanted to offer her- he could easily give her something from his wrist. He knew that it was an intimate act, hell anything with this woman was and could be intimate. He wanted to save himself the embarrassment of rejecting his offer or even taking him up and making this- whatever it was more complicated than it had to be. “How about after this, I’ll go out, get you some food and clothes. You’re hungry, that much is obvious and after you feed, we can figure out our next plan of action.”

She smiles at him from across the table, golden hair spilling in front of those eyes. “That sounds amazing- and thank you Frank. You are a great friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we will be seeing Matt again very VERY soon and he has something going on with him that makes his a bit suspicious. Let's just say that he is an old fashion Vamp that doesn't like the idea of Karen being around Frank.


End file.
